Historical Accounts and Details of Walton County
Walton County
Neil McLendon of Richmond County, North Carolina, his brother Lochlin, brother-in-law Daniel D. Campbell, John Folk and their families started out with their teams in the direction of Pensacola, Florida. After many days full of eventful happenings, the travelers reached Bluff Springs, Florida and camped for a while along the banks of the Escambia and Blackwater rivers. While in Pensacola on a trading trip, McLendon learned about a beautiful area up the choctawhatchee Bay that was then inhabited by a friendly tribe of Indians known as the Euchees. Soon afterwards, Sam Story, the chief of the tribe, was introduced to McLendon and extended to him a very cordial invitation. Upon seeing the new country, McLendon was well pleased. He chose a new home for his entire company. This settlement was on Bruce Creek opposite what is now known as Eucheeanna. News of the new country spread rapidly and soon emigrants from North and South Carolina began to roll into Florida. these emigrants settled in a fertile valley twenty-five miles wide where farming and the raising of sheep and cattle provided a good living for all. This valley was named Euchee Valley in honor of the friendly Euchee Indians who lived there for many generations, generally located between U.S. Highway 90, Rock Hill Road, U.S. Highway 331 and the Choctawhatchee River.
Another early area of colonization was the Alaqua Creek basin, now largely within Eglin Air Force Base. Alaqua, one the oldest communities in the county, was the county seat until 1845, when the county government was moved to Eucheeanna. Landings on the Choctawhatchee River such as Moss Bend (Story’s Landing) and Miller’s Ferry provided interior settlements with access to the shipping lanes. However the river landings were harder to reach than those on theChoctawhatchee Bay, therefore Mallet’s Landing and LaGrange, now Freeport, were the first along the bay to develop as port communities. Portland, located where Alaqua Creek enters the Choctawhachee Bay, a few miles west of Freeport, became a port and sawmill community prior to the Civil War. Since the early days, farming has been an important occupation of the majority of the citizens in Walton County. The soils of the county vary in character from the heavy river bottom lands to the lighter sandy loam of the hills, under-laid by clay subsoil. The latter type is especially adapted to the growing of wild Satsuma, grapes, pears, figs and peaches. The staple crops most produced are corn, soybeans, peanuts, wheat, sugar cane, sweet potatoes and forage crops.
In 1881, colonel W.D. Chipley, Major W.J. Vankirk and W.T. Wright, members of a surveying party seeking a route for the projected Louisville and Nashville Railroad, planned the town of DeFuniak Springs. As they roamed through the dense pine forest and rested on the grassy slopes near what is now known as Lake DeFuniak, they envisioned a prosperous settlement and named the location for Mr. DeFuniak, a then prominent official of the L&N Railroad. A bond company was formed, a hotel built and soon recruits began to arrive. among the first visitors was Dr. A.H. Gillet of the New York Chautauqua who was looking for a desirable location for the winter assembly. Dr. Gillet's visit resulted in the organization of the Florida Chautauqua Association in August 1884. Arrangements were made for the first assembly to be held February 10 to March 7, attracted much attention and soon families from near and far began to gather about the little town where they saw the realization of their desire for better educational advantages.
The success of the Florida Chautauqua programs, presented continuously from 1885 to 1922, may be attributed to the genius and unselfish devotion of the Honorable Wallace Bruce and his son, Mr. Kenneth Bruce, whose combined years of leadership nearly spanned the life of the original Florida chautauqua era. In 1976 the citizens of Walton County expressed a great desire to preserve this great heritage and revived the Chautauqua spirit by way of an annual calendar of events.
The first institution for higher learning in Walton County was the Knox Hill Academy which was founded in 1884. For more than half a century, this school rendered a real service to the youth. The most outstanding recognition gained by the school was during the years when Professor John Newton, a pioneer schoolmaster of Pennsylvania, directed its activities.
The State Normal School for white students was authorized by the Constitution of 1885, and opened in DeFuniak Springs on Monday, October 3, 1887. it was devoted exclusively to preparation of teachers for the schools of Florida and was, at that time, the only school of its kind in the state. In 1904, the Normal School was purchased from the state by the Honorable Daniel Campbell and others of DeFuniak Springs in 1906. It was the purpose of the purchasers to give to the public an institution of learning where people of all denominations might send their children to be educated under distinctly Christian influences. The institution was named Palmer College in honor of the late Reverend B. M. Palmer, the first moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. The school opened on October 2, 1907 and, through 1916, offered four-year college degrees as well as preparatory courses. General elementary school and secondary school courses were offered through the spring term of 1936. Due to financial difficulties, the trustees decided not to open the school in the fall of that year.
The Thomas Industrial Institute was founded as a memorial to Dr. Hiram W. Thomas of Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Thomas was a great believer in industrial education long before vocational features were introduced in the schools of the country.
The county's first high school was established in DeFuniak Springs in 1903, just a year before the close of the Normal School. It was constructed in 1901 at a cost of $15,000 and was said to be second to none in the state. Many of the early teachers were also pastors of country-side churches. In numerous instances, the same building was a classroom on weekdays and place of worship on Sunday.
Tivoli Elementary and Junior High Schools were established in 1912 for black students. Grade 10 was added in the 1935-36 school year, grade 11 in 1936-37 and grad 12 in 1937-38. The schools were closed in 1969. Currently, the Tivoli Complex is used for district administrative offices.
The historic downtown area is home to Lake DeFuniak, a naturally round lake that is approximately one mile in circumference and perhaps fed by a small natural spring. The lake is surrounded by beautiful homes and three churches, along with the Chautauqua Hall of Brotherhood and the Walton-DeFuniak Library, which is the oldest continuously operating library in the state of Florida.
One of the principal industrial developments of the county was in raising poultry. The dairy and beef cattle also established industries. Timber and related products (especially pine) were primary resources through logging and turpentine. Tourism has become one of the largest industries in the county through the beaches of South Walton county. The sugar white beaches are reported to be the most beautiful anywhere
There are three incorporated towns in Walton County. DeFuniak Springs, the county seat, was incorporated in 1901, Paxton in 1953 and Freeport in 1963.
The Early Walton - Okaloosa History
The first Europeans to set foot in what originally Walton County (now Okaloosa County) and the Fort Walton Beach area were members of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's party, who traveled by boat from what is now Panama City Beach, Florida in 1528 to Texas, "Then we set out to sea again, coasting towards the River of Palms. Every day our thirst and hunger increased because our supplies were giving out, as well as the water supply, for the pouches we had made from the legs of our horses soon became rotten and useless. From time to time we would enter some inlet or cove that reached very far inland, but we found them all shallow and dangerous, and so we navigated through them for thirty days, meeting sometimes Indians who fished and were poor and wretched people".
The area is described at "Baixa de Baca" in a Spanish map dated 1566. In later English and French maps the area of was noted as "Baya Santa Rosa" or "Bay St. Rose". A number of Spanish artifacts, including a portion of brigantine leather armor, are housed in the Indian Temple Mound Museum.
Contrary to popular local belief, there is no documentary evidence of pirates using the area as a base of operations. Piracy was rampant in the Gulf of Mexico from pirates working out of Hispaniola, the Caribbean, and the Florida Keys. Notable raids occurred in 1683 and 1687 against the Spanish fort at San Marcos de Apalachee (by French and English buccaneers), a 1712 raid against Port Dauphin (now Alabama) by English pirates from Martinique, and the actions of the late 18th-century adventurer William Augustus Bowles, who was based in Apalachicola. Bowles was never referred to as "Billy Bowlegs" in period documentation; his Creek name was "Eastajoca".
During the era of Spanish and English colonization, the area of what was to become Fort Walton Beach was noted in several journals but no worthwhile presence was established.
Early settlers of Walton County, Florida were the first to establish permanent settlements in what is now Fort Walton Beach (the area was originally named "Anderson"). One of the first settlers was John Anderson, who received land plots in 1838. The name "Anderson" is noted on maps from 1838 to 1884. It was not until 1911 that the name "Camp Walton" appeared on Florida maps.
In 1861, Camp Walton was a confederate military camp made up of the 1st Florida Regiment, which consisted of men from the Walton County Militia. Walton County received its name from Col. George Walton, who served as an aide under Andrew Jackson and whose father, George Walton Sr., was the 56th signatory of the Declaration of Independence. As a result of Col. Walton's influence in the politics of north-west Florida, his name was honored by establishing Walton County.
The 1st Florida regiment's camp was located in front of the Indian Temple Mound, now known as the Heritage Park and Cultural Center, and its mission was to protect the "Narrows" from Union ships. Although the 1st Florida Regiment did not see much action, they did keep busy by digging up prehistoric Indian remains buried in the Indian Temple Mound and displaying them at camp.In the spring of 1820,
More information on early Walton history can be seen at the following:
TIMELINETOPICS
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Neil McLendon of Richmond County, North Carolina, his brother Lochlin, brother-in-law Daniel D. Campbell, John Folk and their families started out with their teams in the direction of Pensacola, Florida. After many days full of eventful happenings, the travelers reached Bluff Springs, Florida and camped for a while along the banks of the Escambia and Blackwater rivers. While in Pensacola on a trading trip, McLendon learned about a beautiful area up the choctawhatchee Bay that was then inhabited by a friendly tribe of Indians known as the Euchees. Soon afterwards, Sam Story, the chief of the tribe, was introduced to McLendon and extended to him a very cordial invitation. Upon seeing the new country, McLendon was well pleased. He chose a new home for his entire company. This settlement was on Bruce Creek opposite what is now known as Eucheeanna. News of the new country spread rapidly and soon emigrants from North and South Carolina began to roll into Florida. these emigrants settled in a fertile valley twenty-five miles wide where farming and the raising of sheep and cattle provided a good living for all. This valley was named Euchee Valley in honor of the friendly Euchee Indians who lived there for many generations, generally located between U.S. Highway 90, Rock Hill Road, U.S. Highway 331 and the Choctawhatchee River.
Another early area of colonization was the Alaqua Creek basin, now largely within Eglin Air Force Base. Alaqua, one the oldest communities in the county, was the county seat until 1845, when the county government was moved to Eucheeanna. Landings on the Choctawhatchee River such as Moss Bend (Story’s Landing) and Miller’s Ferry provided interior settlements with access to the shipping lanes. However the river landings were harder to reach than those on theChoctawhatchee Bay, therefore Mallet’s Landing and LaGrange, now Freeport, were the first along the bay to develop as port communities. Portland, located where Alaqua Creek enters the Choctawhachee Bay, a few miles west of Freeport, became a port and sawmill community prior to the Civil War. Since the early days, farming has been an important occupation of the majority of the citizens in Walton County. The soils of the county vary in character from the heavy river bottom lands to the lighter sandy loam of the hills, under-laid by clay subsoil. The latter type is especially adapted to the growing of wild Satsuma, grapes, pears, figs and peaches. The staple crops most produced are corn, soybeans, peanuts, wheat, sugar cane, sweet potatoes and forage crops.
In 1881, colonel W.D. Chipley, Major W.J. Vankirk and W.T. Wright, members of a surveying party seeking a route for the projected Louisville and Nashville Railroad, planned the town of DeFuniak Springs. As they roamed through the dense pine forest and rested on the grassy slopes near what is now known as Lake DeFuniak, they envisioned a prosperous settlement and named the location for Mr. DeFuniak, a then prominent official of the L&N Railroad. A bond company was formed, a hotel built and soon recruits began to arrive. among the first visitors was Dr. A.H. Gillet of the New York Chautauqua who was looking for a desirable location for the winter assembly. Dr. Gillet's visit resulted in the organization of the Florida Chautauqua Association in August 1884. Arrangements were made for the first assembly to be held February 10 to March 7, attracted much attention and soon families from near and far began to gather about the little town where they saw the realization of their desire for better educational advantages.
The success of the Florida Chautauqua programs, presented continuously from 1885 to 1922, may be attributed to the genius and unselfish devotion of the Honorable Wallace Bruce and his son, Mr. Kenneth Bruce, whose combined years of leadership nearly spanned the life of the original Florida chautauqua era. In 1976 the citizens of Walton County expressed a great desire to preserve this great heritage and revived the Chautauqua spirit by way of an annual calendar of events.
The first institution for higher learning in Walton County was the Knox Hill Academy which was founded in 1884. For more than half a century, this school rendered a real service to the youth. The most outstanding recognition gained by the school was during the years when Professor John Newton, a pioneer schoolmaster of Pennsylvania, directed its activities.
The State Normal School for white students was authorized by the Constitution of 1885, and opened in DeFuniak Springs on Monday, October 3, 1887. it was devoted exclusively to preparation of teachers for the schools of Florida and was, at that time, the only school of its kind in the state. In 1904, the Normal School was purchased from the state by the Honorable Daniel Campbell and others of DeFuniak Springs in 1906. It was the purpose of the purchasers to give to the public an institution of learning where people of all denominations might send their children to be educated under distinctly Christian influences. The institution was named Palmer College in honor of the late Reverend B. M. Palmer, the first moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. The school opened on October 2, 1907 and, through 1916, offered four-year college degrees as well as preparatory courses. General elementary school and secondary school courses were offered through the spring term of 1936. Due to financial difficulties, the trustees decided not to open the school in the fall of that year.
The Thomas Industrial Institute was founded as a memorial to Dr. Hiram W. Thomas of Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Thomas was a great believer in industrial education long before vocational features were introduced in the schools of the country.
The county's first high school was established in DeFuniak Springs in 1903, just a year before the close of the Normal School. It was constructed in 1901 at a cost of $15,000 and was said to be second to none in the state. Many of the early teachers were also pastors of country-side churches. In numerous instances, the same building was a classroom on weekdays and place of worship on Sunday.
Tivoli Elementary and Junior High Schools were established in 1912 for black students. Grade 10 was added in the 1935-36 school year, grade 11 in 1936-37 and grad 12 in 1937-38. The schools were closed in 1969. Currently, the Tivoli Complex is used for district administrative offices.
The historic downtown area is home to Lake DeFuniak, a naturally round lake that is approximately one mile in circumference and perhaps fed by a small natural spring. The lake is surrounded by beautiful homes and three churches, along with the Chautauqua Hall of Brotherhood and the Walton-DeFuniak Library, which is the oldest continuously operating library in the state of Florida.
One of the principal industrial developments of the county was in raising poultry. The dairy and beef cattle also established industries. Timber and related products (especially pine) were primary resources through logging and turpentine. Tourism has become one of the largest industries in the county through the beaches of South Walton county. The sugar white beaches are reported to be the most beautiful anywhere
There are three incorporated towns in Walton County. DeFuniak Springs, the county seat, was incorporated in 1901, Paxton in 1953 and Freeport in 1963.
The Early Walton - Okaloosa History
The first Europeans to set foot in what originally Walton County (now Okaloosa County) and the Fort Walton Beach area were members of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's party, who traveled by boat from what is now Panama City Beach, Florida in 1528 to Texas, "Then we set out to sea again, coasting towards the River of Palms. Every day our thirst and hunger increased because our supplies were giving out, as well as the water supply, for the pouches we had made from the legs of our horses soon became rotten and useless. From time to time we would enter some inlet or cove that reached very far inland, but we found them all shallow and dangerous, and so we navigated through them for thirty days, meeting sometimes Indians who fished and were poor and wretched people".
The area is described at "Baixa de Baca" in a Spanish map dated 1566. In later English and French maps the area of was noted as "Baya Santa Rosa" or "Bay St. Rose". A number of Spanish artifacts, including a portion of brigantine leather armor, are housed in the Indian Temple Mound Museum.
Contrary to popular local belief, there is no documentary evidence of pirates using the area as a base of operations. Piracy was rampant in the Gulf of Mexico from pirates working out of Hispaniola, the Caribbean, and the Florida Keys. Notable raids occurred in 1683 and 1687 against the Spanish fort at San Marcos de Apalachee (by French and English buccaneers), a 1712 raid against Port Dauphin (now Alabama) by English pirates from Martinique, and the actions of the late 18th-century adventurer William Augustus Bowles, who was based in Apalachicola. Bowles was never referred to as "Billy Bowlegs" in period documentation; his Creek name was "Eastajoca".
During the era of Spanish and English colonization, the area of what was to become Fort Walton Beach was noted in several journals but no worthwhile presence was established.
Early settlers of Walton County, Florida were the first to establish permanent settlements in what is now Fort Walton Beach (the area was originally named "Anderson"). One of the first settlers was John Anderson, who received land plots in 1838. The name "Anderson" is noted on maps from 1838 to 1884. It was not until 1911 that the name "Camp Walton" appeared on Florida maps.
In 1861, Camp Walton was a confederate military camp made up of the 1st Florida Regiment, which consisted of men from the Walton County Militia. Walton County received its name from Col. George Walton, who served as an aide under Andrew Jackson and whose father, George Walton Sr., was the 56th signatory of the Declaration of Independence. As a result of Col. Walton's influence in the politics of north-west Florida, his name was honored by establishing Walton County.
The 1st Florida regiment's camp was located in front of the Indian Temple Mound, now known as the Heritage Park and Cultural Center, and its mission was to protect the "Narrows" from Union ships. Although the 1st Florida Regiment did not see much action, they did keep busy by digging up prehistoric Indian remains buried in the Indian Temple Mound and displaying them at camp.In the spring of 1820,
More information on early Walton history can be seen at the following:
TIMELINETOPICS
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- » Civil War
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- » Settlers/Homesteaders
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